In 2000, GO
Transit retired their last 17 General Motor “fishbowl” buses. Over time, I
began to miss those buses. In late spring of 2003, I found out that four of the
buses were bought by Timmins Transit in Northern Ontario.
I wanted to go there to ride those buses. Timmins
is the home town of country singer Shania Twain, so in March of 2005, I decided
that I would “Come on over” to Timmins
in July.

My original plan was to ride
Ontario Northland’s Northlander passenger train overnight, but in May, ONR
changed the schedule to a day train which made things better. My new plan was
to ride the Northlander up on Wednesday July 6th and come home two
days later on the 8th by riding a highway coach to Sudbury,
then ride VIA’s Canadian back to Toronto.
However I was scheduled to work on the 8th which left me with two
choices: either swap shifts with a co-worker, or go two days earlier to work
alongside the Canadian’s schedule because it comes into Toronto
on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I chose to go two days earlier since I’ve
wanted to go for two years and figured I’d get there sooner and save the hassle
of switching shifts with a co-worker. After booking my hotel and VIA Rail
ticket, I had to wait until the day of departure to book my Ontario Northland
tickets.

July 4th,
2005:

I got down
to Toronto’s Union station at 8:15 am and bought my ticket to Timmins.
While I was waiting, I decided to pick up my ticket for another train trip I
would be taking a week later on board Amtrak train 286.

Soon, it was time to board. I found myself waiting in line
to board the wrong train, but quickly realized this and was able to get on the
right train! There was a fair sized crowd boarding in Toronto.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Northlander, a typical trainset consists
of a locomotive which is either a GP38 or a rebuilt FP7, a generator car
converted from an F7B unit, two former GO Transit single level commuter coaches
rebuilt into long distance cars, and a lounge car which is also a rebuilt ex GO
Transit car. The Northlander I rode that day had one extra coach on the rear of
the train.

We left on
time and I saw a CN GP9 and GP38 doing some yard work shortly after departure.
A little while later, the lounge car opened. I spend a lot of time in my coach
occasionally heading into the lounge car and other coaches. We stopped at
various stations including Washago, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, and Huntsville.
The train then passed through the small town of Burk’s Falls. We stopped in
South River. Later we took a siding while we waited for a freight train to pass
us. As we approached North Bay, we passed the Toronto bound Northlander. In
North Bay, passengers were allowed on the platform for a few minutes. I used
that time to take a couple photos of the train.

Up until
North Bay, we had been running on CN tracks. Upon leaving North Bay, we were
now on ONR tracks. We stopped at Temagami. By now, several little kids were on
board. One was going to Timmins with his grandmother. At one point, the train
passed by about six boxcars that were derailed and scattered beside the line!
Some were even on their sides! I took a picture and a video of that site!

We passed
Cobalt station since nobody on the train was getting off there and no one wanted
to get on as well. We passed some freight yards and I saw some of the coaches
Ontario Northland had bought off of BC Rail. At one point, I even saw a steam
engine on an isolated section of track at the Englehart station. We stopped at
Swastika, (ugh, there’s a town called that!) Next was my stop at Matheson,
where I would board a connecting bus to Timmins. When I got off, I took a
couple photos of the train before I got on the bus.

The front of the Northlander, with a kid getting in my shot, sorry.

After
taking the two photos, I got on the bus and filmed the train pulling out. The
kid who was also going to Timmins was looking at the video screens of the
highway coach and wanted to know how to turn them on. I filmed the train
leaving the station.

As the bus
pulled out of the station, I saw a Toyota car painted orange with a silver
spoiler and the number 01 on it like the General Lee on the Dukes of Hazzard.
However, the orange was a lighter shade than the real General Lee.

Minutes
later, we were stuck in traffic caused by road work. The kid and I decided to
pass the time by playing “I Spy”. I got bored of that in a little while. The
kid went to see his grandma, but a minute later, he was back and he started to
bother me by telling dirty jokes and acting like a drunken guy. I told him to
stop bugging me or I would tell his grandmother. He immediately said, “Grandma,
don’t listen to what this guy is saying!” As he continued to get on my nerves,
I could almost hear one of my friends back home saying, “Slap him Tommy, slap
him!” I didn’t listen to the voice in my head, and was thankful when the kid
and his grandmother got off in South Porcupine, which is outside of Timmins.
The rest of the ride to Timmins was uneventful. At the bus station, I called a
taxi which took me to my hotel, a Howard Johnson. I checked in, got settled in
my room, called home, then I headed out to supper at the McDonalds in the
Wal-Mart store next door to my hotel. It was pretty convenient since I happen
to work for Wal-Mart. After getting dinner and browsing the Electronics
department, I headed back to my hotel to call it a night.

July 5th,
2005

I got up at
9:00 am and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant. After breakfast, I called a
number I was given by a Timmins Transit employee and arranged to have a garage
tour in the early afternoon. I packed my camera and several batteries and
caught a bus, a newer Orion 6. Upon getting downtown, I soon found the first
fishbowl, #76. That bus was bought from Victoria, British Columbia with three
others. After waiting around the Timmins Transit terminal, I got on route 32.

Timmins
Transit Route 32 goes past the bus garage, but on the way, I caught a glimpse
of a 30 foot fishbowl in a driveway, so I got off the bus and went to check it
out. The bus was ex Stratford Transit #7323 which had been converted to a
camper. That bus’s sister #7322 is privately owned in Toronto and is
operational.

This is ex Stratford,
Ontario GM #7323. Its centre doors were replaced and interior has been modified
as a camper.

After
taking two pictures of 7323, I headed back to the bus stop. While I was
waiting, I photographed Timmins Transit bus #74, their lone El Dorado low
floor. Finally, the next route 32 bus came and I rode it to the garage.

While at
the Garage, I saw Timmins Transit bus 70, an ex GO Transit fishbowl, moved to
another location of the garage. That excited me since this was the first time
in five years that I had seen a GO fishbowl moving under its own power.

After
taking a couple more photos around the garage, I went inside the office and
waited for Percy Beaudion who would give me a tour. When he showed up, he
showed me the employee lunchroom and his office before we headed out to the
yard out back.

In the
yard, I saw various buses including former TTC Flyer D800B #8257, which is
owned by the Canadian Transit Heritage Foundation. I also saw three of their
other buses which were all fishbowls: Buses 720 and 724 from Oakville Transit,
and Timmins Transit #67, which was ex St. Johns Newfoundland bus #275. Besides
the CTHF’s buses, I saw some other retired fishbowls from Timmins Transit One
bus was stripped and appeared to have had the Jaws of Life taken to it by the
fire department for practice on what to do in the event of a real bus accident.
There were also five other ex GO Transit fishbowls that were in the yard that
were still in the GO Transit livery. Four of them had been stripped of parts.

Also at the
garage, I saw all four of the ex GO Transit fishbowls that Timmins Transit used
in revenue service. Two of them were being serviced while another was waiting
to have its engine rebuilt. One was road ready, and although it wasn’t going
into service later, Percy did give be a private charter on it for free! I was
much thankful. The four ex GO fishbowls currently in service with Timmins
Transit had their sealed windows replaced, but other then that, not seriously
modified from when they were in service with GO Transit.

After the
tour, Percy gave me a ride back downtown where I stopped at a Wendy’s for
lunch. After lunch, I took a long ride on fishbowl #78, another ex Victoria
fishbowl to South Porcupine and back. I hoped that I wouldn’t run into that kid
I saw the day before on the Northlander and the connecting bus. Fortunately, I
didn’t see him again. When I got back downtown, I took a picture of bus 78. The
driver covered her face when I took the photo.

Next, I
wandered over to where I could get a tour of a gold mine, but it was about to
close. So I decided to head back downtown. After stopping at a Shopper’s Drug
Mart, and getting dinner from a Subway restaurant, I rode one more ex Victoria
fishbowl, (#77). Finally, I caught Timmins Transit’s only El Dorado bus back to
my hotel. I got off at a mall about a block away because I saw that there was a
carnival in the parking lot. Unfortunately, it was still in the process of
being set up, so it wasn’t open. I went back to my hotel where I asked the front
desk clerk to give me a wake up call at 7:00 the following morning. I then
called a taxi to pick me up at 7:30 am the next morning to head to the bus
station. Before I called it a night, I called home.

July 6th, 2005:

After
getting the wake up call, I finished packing and ate a cereal bar I had bought
the day before. I checked out of the hotel and waited for the taxi. When I got
to the bus terminal, I was early, so I bought a carton of milk from a place
across the street. My bus to Sudbury was scheduled in at 8:20, but was a few
minutes late. I knew timekeeping was important based on the assumption that
VIA’s Toronto bound Canadian was on time, though more often then not, it runs
late.

This bus
had a digital clock on board which I paid much attention to. The bus passed by
where all Timmins Transit routes converge and I saw fishbowl 73 in service, so
I got a quick shot of it from the bus. The bus was a local and stopped at
several places including Gogama, Cartier, Levack, and Chelmsford. At one point,
we stopped at a little restaurant and store. I just bought a bottle of Pepsi
and a chocolate bar and got back on the bus. By looking at the clock, I could
tell we were still behind schedule and it was going to be close if the Canadian
was on time.

However,
things turned in my favor when the bus arrived at Sudbury. About a week
earlier, I had called a local cab company to have a taxi waiting for me at the
terminal. It was there, so once I got off the bus, I grabbed my luggage and ran
through the terminal to my waiting taxi. After a 16 minute ride to the Sudbury
Junction VIA station, I saw some people waiting on the platform which was a
very good sign, even though it was less than 20 minutes before the Canadian’s
scheduled arrival. I paid my fare, then got my luggage and waited for the
Canadian to arrive. While waiting a couple CN freight trains and a train
maintenance crew passed by. Finally, the Canadian arrived, almost an hour
late.I took a video of the train
arriving before I got on.

I was
seated HEP1 coach #8129, the coach behind the baggage car. I stowed my luggage
and relaxed. After my ticket was taken, I headed to the dome car which was
three cars behind my car. I got something to eat from the snack bar and watched
the view from the dome. At various points we took sidings while waiting for
various freights to pass. I took one picture from the dome of the back end of
the train which was for sleeping car passengers.

The train I rode was 19 cars long,
but I’ve seen it with 30 cars. One of my friends out west told me he once saw
it with 35 coaches!

The time passed. I grabbed some
dinner. The train stopped at Parry Sound and Washago. The Canadian actually
overtook at least one of the trains that had passed by Sudbury Junction while I
was waiting for the train. Finally, we arrived in Toronto two hours late. I
called home, and then took the subway to return home.

Closing thoughts:

This trip was quite enjoyable and
everything seemed to go perfect for me with the exception of the little kid who
bothered me on the bus I rode from Matheson to Timmins. The day after I got
back, terrorists attacked London, England hitting three subway trains and a
bus. I would later find out, I could have just ridden to Gogama, and picked up
the Canadian there, though the timing would leave less than 10 minutes if the
train and bus were on time, but I believe the bus station in Gogama is across
the street from where the Canadian stops. If I decide to go back to Timmins, I
may try riding the bus to Gogama, but only if the Canadian is running late.
Until next time…